Stalker is denied bail

A VIOLENT stalker has been locked up to await his sentence. Kieran Murphy appeared in the dock at Reading Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, April 2. The 24-year-old, of Mount Road, Thatcham, admitted stalking Caitlin Doswell, knowing that his behaviour would cause her distress, in Thatcham between April 1 last year and March 11 this year.

He also pleaded guilty to a domestic violence assault by beating in Thatcham between September 30 and November 1 last year. Finally, Murphy, who was legally represented by Max Riley-Gould, admitted causing £500 worth of criminal damage to a car belonging to Ms Doswell on the Broadway in Thatcham on March 8. Magistrates ordered pre-sentence reports.



They stipulated these should be prepared on an ‘all options’ basis, including custody, and reserved their right to commit the case to be sentenced by a judge sitting at Reading Crown Court should they decide, having read the reports, that their own powers of punishment were insufficient. They meanwhile denied Murphy bail and remanded him in custody. They did so because of the nature and seriousness of the offences, the fact that offences were committed within a domestic context and due to Murphy’s previous convictions and character.

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